TRAVEL FEATURE - INDIA
CAROLYN LAMB
ACHIEVING A LIFELONG DREAM
Gazing out over the stunning Pangong Lake at an altitude of 4,270 metres in Ladakh , Northern India watching a beautiful golden sunrise coming up over the glacier topped Himalayas , I asked myself , “ How did I get here ?”
My ( rented ) Royal Enfield Bullet 500 was parked alongside the tent where I had slept . So how exactly did a middle-aged Scottish lady biker get here ?
The story starts with my son ’ s childhood obsessions . “ Most wee boys like trucks , tractors , motorbikes , and mine was no exception but he also had a fascination for Mount Everest . As he grew up , he accumulated books and films about the Himalayas and at age 13 a schoolteacher fed his motorbike obsession by giving him a minimoto , in bits , in three black bin bags which somehow ended up on my kitchen floor . The mini-moto was duly reassembled thus cementing my son ’ s love of motorbikes and I knew then I had to accept the inevitable ... he was going to become a biker .
Time passed and Sandy grew up . Somewhere along the way , I got sucked into the motorbikes too and we both obtained our licences . The die was cast !
Sandy ’ s 21st birthday was approaching , and I was on the lookout for a present . I have always preferred to give ‘ experiences ’ rather than ‘ stuff ’ as gifts and it was serendipitous that an advert for a Himalayan motorbike trip popped up on my computer .
Two birds with one stone !
Himalayas and motorbikes ! What more could my son want ? The one small fly in the ointment was that his old mum had to come along and share the trip . Well , I wasn ’ t going to miss this trip of a lifetime .
We booked with a company called Vintage Rides who are based in
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